Return to the roots: Celebrating our roots through creativity
Reconnect with your roots | Reimagine belonging | Honour your story
Would you love a morning of gentle connection, cultural reflection, and creative self-expression?
Join us for a 2-hour immersive workshop centering Asian voices and stories—an affirming space to explore themes of home, identity, and belonging through creativity, ritual, and reflection.
Return to the Roots is a therapeutic and creative experience that honours the complexity and beauty of Asian identities—across borders, generations, and intersections. It is especially held for, but not limited to, Third Culture Kids (TCKs), diasporic Asians, and anyone navigating the in-between of cultures, languages, and lineages.
Asian identities are vast, diverse, and deeply rooted. Whether you’ve grown up between countries, are re-discovering forgotten traditions, or carry ancestral stories in your body and dreams, this space invites you to celebrate that richness.
Through expressive arts, storytelling, and culturally grounded practices, this workshop offers a gentle invitation to reflect on what it means to belong, and how we might create home in ourselves and each other. Here, you’ll be held in a safe, inclusive, and trauma-informed environment to share your voice, honour your journey, and weave together the threads of your cultural tapestry—on your own terms.
📍 Art TEArapy (WEST)—Studio 6, Henderson House, 45 Moreland Street, Footscray VIC 3011
🕕 Arrive at 9:30am for a 10pm start
🍵 Tea and Kuih included
🧡 Spots are limited, register today so you don’t miss out!
What to expect
🌿 Welcoming with tea & storytelling
– Arrive with intention through tea rituals, poetry, and shared stories from the Asian diaspora
🌱 Mindfulness & regulation practices
– Gentle grounding and meditation to tend to your nervous system
🎨 Creative artmaking
– A guided, expressive arts activity to explore your connection to home, roots, and identity
🤝 Community sharing circle
– An open space to reflect, witness, and connect with others through story and presence
Please note: This space may bring up emotional experiences related to identity and belonging. Our facilitators will hold space with deep care and offer grounding and support throughout. A qualified, registered Arts Therapist will be present.
All materials are provided.
No artistic experience needed.
For ages 16+
Attendance is capped to ensure a focused experience—early registration is encouraged.
Photography and/or video will be taken during this event for promotional and archival purposes. By attending, you consent to your image being captured and used by HOISZN and Art Tearapy. If you prefer not to be photographed, please let a team member know on the day.
About the Facilitators
Art Tearapy is a social enterprise rooted in the belief that healing is both creative and collective. Grounded in Asian and intercultural wisdoms, we support migrants, refugees, First Nations people, and those with lived experience of displacement through arts therapy, movement, and ritual.
Led by Su Mei Tan, Return to the Roots is part of our ongoing commitment to co-creating culturally safe spaces where diverse identities are honoured, and where creativity becomes a powerful bridge to connection, community, and self.
HOISZN is a quarterly art and design magazine based in Naarm/Melbourne, dedicated to celebrating the talents of Asian-Australian creatives. Independently created, designed, and produced, HOISZN seeks to amplify perspectives that enrich our cultural landscape.
We collaborate closely with artists, writers, creatives, businesses, and organisations to bolster our presence and create opportunities and spaces for members of our community to thrive. We’re passionate about fostering creative talent, celebrating heritage, and redefining the future of Asian-Australian art and culture.